Echo Dot (3rd Gen, 2018 release) - Smart speaker with Alexa - Charcoal

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• 

  Eric Wheelwright

  5 out of 5 stars

  Why I Own TEN Echos!

  Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2020

  Verified Purchase

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  Before reading this review, please note that I base my reviews and ratings on COST as well as QUALITY & FEATURES. It is my way of offer fair and honest reviews that benefit other potential buyers, as cost should be considered. After all, it is extremely unfair to rate an item that cost $50 based on the features and quality of one that costs $500.

  As it relates to the Echo Dot (3rd Gen), for the current price, it is an absolute great deal.

  PROS:

  1. It's compact and can be placed relatively anywhere. There are even accessories that can be added to it that allow you to use your wall socket to hold the Echo Dot if you aren't interested in setting it on a surface.

  2. The 3rd Gen version has noticeably improved sound quality and improved voice recognition capabilities over the previous versions.

  3. There are NO MONTHLY FEES. Use of the Echo and most of the standard features are completely free. There are some paid subscription options that, for me, are worth it, such as Amazon Music and iCamera, however, even these features come with free options.

  4. I've always the computer system on Star Trek, and I've often imagine what it would feel like to have a similar system in my own home. With my Echos, I no longer have to wonder. They offer me the ability to control nearly every electrical devise in my home. I use my Echos to turn on and off the lights, to power on and off my television, surround sound, video game system and to adjust my thermostat. I also use it to control my Alexa enabled Microwave.

  5. In addition to using my Echos to play music and control smart devices, I use them as a Personal Assistant. The Echos make it easier than ever to schedule appointments and meetings. They are also great for setting reminders and To Do lists. And of course, I use them when cooking to set Cooking Timers that include labels for the food that I'm cooking. For example, if I need a timer for a Baked Potato, I'll tell Alexa to set a 45 minute Baked Potato timer. The Echo will then set a timer called "Baked Potato." This really comes in handy when you are cooking multiple things and need to set more than one time.

  6. In addition to what the Echos can do out the box, there are Skills, which work like mobile phone apps, that can be added to your Echo to increase its functionality. In the near future I'll post of list of some my favorites.

  Photos coming soon.

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• 

  Tango's product reviews

  5 out of 5 stars

  The device that just keeps getting better and better with each revision

  Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2019

  Verified Purchase

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  Okay so first off I'd like to say that I had a gen 1 echo for a few years now and it finally burnt out and I missed it so I purchased this gen 3 thinking it was going to be the same quality as the echo one, I was completely wrong the weight of this device is a lot more than the old echo device the size of it is a little bit bigger in diameter and has a much much better speaker in it. I was amazed at the quality of the audio that came out of that little device almost comprable to Bose integration is exactly the same as the Gen 1 and Gen 2 it's very easy as long as you follow the directions the power cord I noticed is alot beefier for this one I would say it's almost double the size of the old one. How this differs is this is an actual circular power plug that being said you cannot hook this up to any USB device to power it like you could with the gen ones this does have a small quarter inch headphone jack to allow you to put speakers externally to it. I did notice this is much louder than the old generation 1 echoes and much clearer. And with Amazon offering them for around $25 I'm just going to say you're a fool if you don't purchase one they even make set up very easy if you choose to have them add it to your existing account. That being said all you have to do is connected to Wi-Fi and you're done. I would recommend purchasing the smart lights and smart outlets to use with this that's how I found the most use out of this device and I've been using this for years you can literally connect almost any smart device to the echo so that it can be voice controlled. I currently use this for lights in my house as well as outlets plus I have it control outdoor Christmas lights on a timer which is also hooked up to music through prime music that being said there is just an amazing amount of uses for this product and it seems like they just keep getting better and better and better. Because they invented this voice control I guess you could say I would stick with them over Google or any of the other companies that may provide these devices I have never been a huge Amazon fan but they have actually done something fantastic with these devices. I think at least every home should have at least one of them. And if privacy is your main concern don't worry laws are in place that prevent the company from snooping in on your private data.Amazon really doesn't want a billion dollar class action lawsuit on them so they take this seriously. I purchased one for my wife and will probably be purchasing a few more to send to my kids so they can enjoy the device as I have enjoyed it

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• 

  Hello Joseph

  5 out of 5 stars

  Keeps getting better and better

  Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2020

  Verified Purchase

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  This is the second review I'm writing for this product. I now have this Dot for over 6 months and I've been very pleased with its performance from the start and because it continues to function as it did the day I took it out of the box, I thought it deserves another recommendation. Amazon doesn't give me anything for writing good reviews so the only incentive I have to recommend a product is the performance the product itself gives me. My reviews never vary at all from the truth. When I find a product that functions as it should or better, I believe that by saying it, I am helping others decide how to spend their money more wisely which ultimately helps them save money by buying good products instead of junk. I have 2 other Dots, and two Echos with screens but this 3rd generation Dot is my best Alexa and really has exceeded all my expectations. She detects my commands from further away than all the other Alexas I have , and transmits my requests to external blue tooth speakers effortlessly. As a matter of fact if I am asking the echo I have in the kitchen for a recipe I have to whisper because if I speak normally my 3 generation Dot which is 3 rooms away, around a corner at the far end of the third room (over 60 to 70 feet away) will pick up the command along with the Echo in the kitchen. My other Alexas have some issues every once in a while, but this Dot never even ever stumbled on a word I didn't pronounce perfectly. It also has a fabric outer shell which makes it feel more substantial a product than the other models. I am really very happy with this product and would buy it again and again. Amazon, please don't try to make this one better than it is because it's already much better than "good enough". "Good enough" is the label I give to products that are not bad enough to return but not good enough to want to keep forever. I want to keep this Dot forever. Great job Amazon but remember this "If it's not broken don't fix it" and this Dot has never even come close to being broken. Another helpful thought is that Amazon's voice recognition technology is fantastic especially when it's combined with Amazon Music Unlimited; in that case it recognizes the title of every song I ask it to play and many times will play the song I want to hear even if I only give Alexa the first verse of the song because I forgot the exact title. Thanks Amazon, great job, keep up what you are doing. While other companies are constantly looking for ways to cut costs and they cut costs by taking something out of the products they make Amazon seems to be making their showcase products better and better. *"Look around you all you see is sympathetic lies"; smaller boxes of cereal, thinner cords on appliances, features that used to be are now gone to make the products cheaper, buttons and dials that have been taken away and cheap where ever cheap can get away with replacing what is better. I don't see this happening with the products Amazon introduces as their own to the market. Amazon's showcase products just keep getting better not less functional and not made cheaper.

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• 

  Okie1010

  4 out of 5 stars

  Happy (and amused) with my unit

  Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2021

  Verified Purchase

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  It seems people either love or hate Alexa. I like mine, but I don't love it. My wife is from another country--English is her 3rd or 4th language--she and Alexa do not always get along, so I end up repeating my wife's requests, which works most of the time. I've learned a few things, though. Never aske to play the same song more than once per week. When Alexa's AI figures out that you really like a song, it always goes to the $3.99 extra per month list of songs. It seems safe to ask for a specific group, i.e., the Rolling Stones or the Beatles, just don't ask for specific songs too often. My wife and I both love a wide variety of music, but my wife tends to get frustrated by Alexa and does not use the unit very often.

  I liked my generation 2 so well that I bought one each for a couple of family members and another one for myself (it is a generation 3). I was going to buy a third unit for my in-home office, but after transferring the 2nd gen from my bedroom for my office, I realized I could not concentrate on my work for listening to the music.

  I've heard all the stories about how Alexa is spying on me, but I'm not terribly concerned. I watch a fair number of YouTube videos--anything that sparks my interest--and the 3rd gen unit is right next to the TV, so, if it's recording my info, it's getting a wide variety from sensible to weird information. Also, I like to play the TV while I'm away from home, just to confuse the would-be burglars, and I usually play it on one of the traditional news channels, because they talk a lot instead of showing movies, and that should confuse the wannabe burglars more. I tried using Alexa for that, but the unit stops playing after half a dozen songs (just estimating), but the TV will drone on and on until I turn it off. When some of my more suspicious friends or relatives visit, I unplug the unit so they can talk candidly, just to make them feel more comfortable. I have been known to remind them that their cell phones and TV sets do the same thing, even when you turn them off.

  I've learned to be very specific about the music I want to hear. I never tell Alexa to play a song without specifying the artist. If she still picks the wrong song or artist, I try to ask in a different way, but usually find out that the song I want to hear is on the $3.99 per month additional list, which I do not subscribe to. The unit is usually pretty good about substituting a channel that has music I like--based on the song I asked for. I'm impressed that AI is as smart as it is in this tiny unit.

  Sometimes, when I get bored, I like to ask Alexa stupid or confusing questions, just to see how it answers. Yeah, I'm easily entertained, but it's surprising what the unit can come up with. I get a lot of "Sorry, I don't know that."

  My brother and I were trying to fix a leaky faucet in my daughter's home when her Alexa unit in the other room spoke to us. At first we thought someone had come in without our knowing it. Since it was a female voice, we did not start looking for weapons to defend ourselves from burglars, but we quickly went to see who was there. The house was empty. I laughed when my brother suggested the house might be haunted, but it made me stop and think. Later, my daughter reminded me about the Alexa unit I had bought for her--yep, same voice. The point is, you never know what will set the unit off. You do not have to mention its name or speak to it.

  I've never had a problem with the unit waking me up in the middle of the night, but it does start blinking yellow when I have a notification. Took me a while to figure that out. I get notified about storms, kidnappings in my home state, when an Amazon package has arrived, and a few other miscellaneous messages. It never wakes me up, except for when I set an alarm, but I have to set the alarms individually. I cannot tell it to wake me up every weekday morning at 7 a.m. I have to set a separate alarm for every morning of every day I want awakened. But it also allows me to set other alarms. For instance, I can tell it to set an alarm for 5 p.m., so I don't work too long on my computer. If I'm cooking something, I can tell it to set an alarm for 15 minutes from now; otherwise, I will ruin my lunch and stink up my house, because I don't think about food until 3 or 4 p.m. All in all, I highly recommend the units.

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• 

  Onahunch

  5 out of 5 stars

  My Garage Jukebox Got Smarter!

  Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2025

  Verified Purchase

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  The Echo Dot (3rd Gen, 2018 release) in Charcoal has transformed my garage into a music haven, and I’m absolutely loving it! I use it to stream tunes from my phone while I tinker with projects, and this little smart speaker punches way above its weight. It’s become my go-to companion for making every garage session more enjoyable—five stars all the way!

  Pros:

  • Awesome Sound for the Size: Don’t let the compact design fool you—the sound is clear, rich, and fills my garage with ease. From rock to podcasts, it handles everything I throw at it via Bluetooth from my phone.

  • Seamless Phone Pairing: Connecting my phone was a breeze, and Alexa plays my Spotify playlists or Pandora stations with a simple voice command. No fumbling with cords or complicated setups—just instant music.

  • Tough Enough for the Garage: The fabric finish looks sleek in charcoal, and it’s held up to the dusty, gritty vibes of my workspace. It’s small enough to tuck on a shelf but sturdy enough to feel like it belongs.

  • Alexa’s Handy Perks: Beyond music, I’ve started using it to check the weather or set timers for paint drying—super convenient when my hands are covered in grease. It’s like having an assistant out there!

  • Great Value: For the price, this thing delivers big. It’s reliable, responsive, and hasn’t skipped a beat in months of use.

  Cons:

  • Voice Pickup Can Be Spotty: In a noisy garage (think power tools), Alexa sometimes misses my commands unless I’m close or shout. Not a huge deal, but I’ve had to repeat myself a few times.

  • No Battery Option: It’s tethered to an outlet, so I had to rig an extension cord to place it where I wanted. A built-in battery would’ve made it more portable for my setup.

  • Bass Could Be Stronger: The sound is great overall, but if I crank up bass-heavy tracks, it lacks that deep thump I’d love. It’s fine for casual listening, though.

  The Echo Dot 3rd Gen has made my garage time so much better—music flows effortlessly from my phone, and Alexa keeps things fun and functional. It’s a small device with a big impact, perfect for jamming out while I work. Five stars for a smart speaker that’s earned its spot in my man cave—I’d buy it again in a heartbeat!

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• 

  ForeverYOUNG

  5 out of 5 stars

  Echo dot 3rd gen

  Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2023

  Verified Purchase

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  I use my Echo dot (3rd gen 2018 release) in my living room - have a really old tower in my bedroom - but it still works so I don't replace it. The new dot replaced a really old first gen dot that finally died. I made an additional purchase to the new 3rd gen dot - a holder. It looks like a birds nest with a couple tiny birds. Very cute. All in all the 'new' dot (2018 is hardly new - but...) works great. It linked right up to my network and is working great. We use it mostly for music, occasional mood sounds - I LOVE 'crackling fire' when we are running our electric fireplace and asking the random question. Overall, happy with the purchase.  Having said all of this, I never hesitate to update my reviews should new info seem useful. All of my reviews reflect my honest, personal experience with the reviewed item - your experience may be different. I am not influenced by any outside source. I receive/accept NO free products or discounts that are not available to all shoppers- ever. For some reason our shopper ranks are no longer visible - so, to give you a little more info about me, I am a top 50 reviewer (#30 the highest rank achieved). Those numbers used to fluctuate over time - up and down but I noticed that they stopped updating regularly - perhaps to phase them out. It's a shame because it did help you see who has been around the longest and who is a trustworthy reviewer.  I've been doing reviews for over 25 years with Amazon - over 6,000 reviews posted, those reviews have been viewed well over 50,000 times, including well over 24,000 likes. Bottom line, I pay for all my stuff, just like you do.

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  Amazon Customer

  5 out of 5 stars

  So far so good

  Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2019

  Verified Purchase

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  We've only had our Alexa devices setup for about two weeks now, so we're definitely still working out the kinks. With that said, this is a review of everything I've noticed of our entire Alexa ecosystem, which includes 2x Echo Dots, 2x Echo Spots, 2x refurbished Echos, and 1x Echo Sub:

  Pros: Individually, they all work exactly as they should ALMOST all the time (more on that in the cons section). They all look good, and aren't big, ugly hunks of metal and plastic taking up space in your house. They were all incredibly easy to get through initial setup (except the Echo Sub, more below). Music sounds good in all of them, to include the Echo Dots (but it sounds GREAT on the Echos, and fantastic on the Echo/Sub pair).

  Cons: The voice recognition is almost too good for its own good. We have a fairly open floor plan, with an Echo Spot in the living room and an Echo in the kitchen. Sometimes they both hear a demand, and the wrong device (meaning the one farther away) will respond. I find myself occasionally whispering to an Echo device so its friends don't butt in to the convo.

  The Echo Sub needed to be reset 3x when I first got it/went to set it up. I had to log in/out of the app a couple times as well before it was recognized and would actually pair to an Echo.

  Sometimes Alexa tells me she can't complete a request, then my wife (who uses Alexa far less often than I do) will ask the same request and it works...and vice versa. We haven't figured out what we're doing/saying or not doing/not saying for these discrepancies to happen, but hopefully that'll work itself out with time.

  The most irritating issue I have so far is getting music to play on the "Everywhere" group. Sometimes I say "Alexa play music everywhere" and it just doesn't do it. Sometimes it'll play on only some of the devices, and sometimes it'll only play on the device I was speaking to. Our house is two stories, and we have two kids and a dog, so we spend a ridiculous amount of our time cleaning/walking up and down the stairs. A big part of the reason I bought these was for the music to fill the house while cleaning, and it oftentimes requires me to spend some time arguing with Alexa to get that to happen. It's even gotten to the point where I've had to go into the app and manually select "Everywhere," because the voice command just won't work.

  Individual components:

  2x Echo Dots (w/ separately purchased wall mounts): No complaints. They setup just fine, and work perfectly. They're actually bigger than I thought they would be, and look a little clunky mounted to the wall, but overall they don't mess up our aesthetic enough for me to dock them a star or anything. 5/5 would recommend.

  2x Echo Spots: No complaints again. These were the first two devices we bought, and they worked so well I decided to buy the other devices. My favorite part of these is their ability to pull up security cam footage. My desk is in the basement, so it's nice to say "Alexa show me the driveway" and see who just pulled in, or to say "Alexa show me the front door" when the doorbell rings. I paired these will some web cam covers (also bought on Amazon, of course) so Jeffy and his crew can't record me all day long.

  2x refurbished Echos (in charcoal): I bought these to play music, and they sound amazing. We'll see how they hold up, given that they're refurbished equipment, but I have my fingers crossed. They also look great, and are not an eye sore like other speakers.

  1x Echo Sub: The only device that gave me an issue with the setup process. For that, I'd honestly give the Sub 4/5 stars because it really was a pain in the butt getting it properly hooked up. It gave me issues not just connecting to Wifi, but also when pairing with an Echo. Lots of logging in/out of the app, resetting the Sub. Irritating, to say the least. However, with that one star docked, I'd give it a SOLID 4/5 stars. This thing sounds GREAT. I'm a huge music lover, but hip hop/rap is really where my loyalty lies. And I NEED bass when I jam, and this thing delivers bass in spades. Even with the setup issue, I'm planning on buying another for in the basement. If Amazon ever makes a waterproof version, I'll buy one for outside for bbqs/parties too.

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• 

  Barb & Reid

  5 out of 5 stars

  It's about convenience and entertainment

  Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2021

  Verified Purchase

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  I bought 2 dot 3rd gens to go with my dot 4th gen and 2 show 5's. One of the 3rd gens is for the garage. The other is for the back patio. Now, because these aren't outdoor/weather proof, my plan was to install it underneath the eave of the house to protect it as much as possible. Turns out that I don't have to do that because there's a portable battery/dock for the 3rd gen and you should definitely buy it if you're gonna buy one of these devices. What I like about the 3rd gen is that it's simple. I don't need a screen/camera for the garage or for the patio/entertaining. What I need is music and the 3rd gen is plenty loud, has an adjustable equalizer (FYI, your options are Bass, Middle, and High from -6 to +6 and you just tell the thing which setting and what value... to be honest, it is a little bit "tinny" sounding but it is the older 3rd gen), and has access to all my music and skills I use on the fancier models I have around the place. The other thing that I like about the whole Alexa system is the shopping list. So if I'm in the garage or anywhere, really, and I run out of something or realize I need something I can just tell Alexa to add that item to the shopping list and then BANG, it's right there on my phone app when I get to the store! To be honest that's about the only thing I use the devices for. Now if I had to give it a con this is it. And this con might be something I just don't know how to do... but you can't say something like, "Alexa, play the Chiefs game," and expect it to find the game. You have to know what station is broadcasting it and then tell the thing to play that station. That's a real pain because sometimes I don't know the radio station because I like teams that aren't just my local home teams. Anyway, that's about all I don't like about it. Oh, and that it's not outdoor/weather proof.

  I didn't tell you this, but another feature I like about all this Alexa stuff is being able to have them all play the same music on all the devices so if you're entertaining or just piddling around and you go from room to room you don't miss a beat on the music. And they're synched, too, so it's not annoying like 2 different tv's playing the same show but one is a little bit ahead of the other so the audio messes you up.

  I do know that the devices recognize my voice better than my wife's but that could be because 1) when my wife set up her voice on the machine she tried to speak properly and not the way she talks, 2) when she talks she's got a real "she's from Texas" accent, or 3) maybe Alexa just work well with the frequency of women's voices. I'm not calling that a microaggression. I'm just telling you about our experience.

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